Dress-stay.



N0. 684,28L Patented Oct. 8,190l.

- E. L. MAYER.

DRESS STAY.

{Application Mad Jan. 28, 1901.)

(lo Modal.)

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EDWARD L. MAYER, or CHICAGO, ILLINoIs.

DRESS-STAY.

srncIFIcAcrIon formingpart of Letters Patent No. 684,284., dated October 8, 1901.

Application filed January 28,1901. Serial No. 45,023. (No model.)

T0 all whom it Indy concern:

Be it known that I, EDWARD L. MAYER, of Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Dress-Stays; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof,reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

This invention relates to a novel device for use in connection with a dress-waist or shirtwaist of the kind which is intended for giving what is known as a pointed or longwaisted effect at the front of the garment and which overlaps the dress-skirt in front for the purpose of holding the lower front portion of the dress-waist or shirt-waist smoothly in place without the use of any stays or stiifening-strips in the waist itself.

In a prior application for patent filed by me January 24:, 1901, Serial No. 44,557, I have shown and claimed a vertical stay attached between its ends to a belt, by which said stay may be secured in place centrally on the person of the wearer with its upper portion extending upwardly .toward the bust and its lower end projecting downwardly below the belt, said downwardly-projecting part being adapted for attachment to the lower margin of the pointed front part of the dress-waist or shirt-waist. The device shown in said prior application embraces a horizontal strip to which the belt is directly attached, the vertical stay referred to being adjustably connected with the said horizontal strip to adapt the device for use with longer or shorter waists.

The present invention is intended to provide a more simple form of article intended for the same purpose as that illustrated in the said prior application; and it consists in the matters hereinafter described, and more particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

As shown in the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a view of a figure with a device embodying my invention applied thereto,a shirtwaist being shown in dotted lines. Fig. 2 is a front View of the device with the belt re- Fig. 3 is a central vertical section moved.

thereof, taken on line 3 3 of Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a horizontal section thereof, taken on line 4 4 of Fig. 2 I

As shown in said drawings, A represents a stay-plate, of spring-steel or like suitable ma; terial, provided with two vertical arms A and A and two horizontal arms A A said arms being made in one piece or integral with each other.

13 indicates a belt connected with the horizontal arms of the stay-plate for holding the latter in place upon the person of the wearer.

The stay A will be of sheet metal or other suitably stifi but elastic material. Said stayplate is provided with means for connecting the belt 13 therewith, consisting of a plurality of vertical slots at a, formed in the horizontal arms A A thereof, of which preferably four are used, arranged two at either side of the central vertical line of the stay-plate. The belt B is inserted through said slots in the manner illustrated, this connection of the belt with the plate enabling the plate to be adjusted endwise on the belt, as may be desired. The belt B is provided with a buckle B or other fastening device and is adapted to be placedaround the body of the waist, so as to confine the stay-plate A closely to the person in front.

After a device made as described is applied as shown in Fig 2 the dress or shirt waist is then put on by the wearer and the lower end or edge of the pointed front thereof is secured to the lower end of the depending vertical arm of the stay-plate, being attached thereto after the lower part of the garment has been drawn smoothly down into place over the upper part of the dress-skirt. In the case of a shirt-waist provided with the usual flaps projecting below the waist band or belt thereof the same may be adapted for use with the stay described by providing the same with vertical slits or notches in the lower or flap portion thereof at either side of the waist to receive the Waistband of the skirt, the portion of the lower margin of the skirt at the rear of the margins being placed beneath the skirt, as is usual with such waists, and the front portion thereof being brought over the skirt and secured to the lower end of the lower arm of the stay-plate, which acts to hold such front part smoothly in place and to thereby give the desired pointed effect to the waist.

To adapt the stay-plate described for use with a longer or shorter waist, or, in other words, to waists in which the pointed lower front part of which extends a greater or less distance downwardly over the dress-skirt, the vertical arm A of the stay-plate is made longer than thearm A thereof, and the said arms being otherwise alike the stay-plate may be reversed or placed with either of its longer or shorter vertical arms downwardly.

To provide means for attaching the lower margin of the waist to the vertical arm of the stay-plate, which extends downwardly from the belt, said stay-plate is provided at each end with loops a a through which pins may be inserted forfastening the waist thereto or with one of which may be engaged an ordinary dress-hook, secured to the inner surface of the waist at its lower end. As herein shown, the loops at are arranged horizontally and the loops (0 are arranged vertically. The horizontal loops are adapted for engagement with a hook arranged as described or with a pin inserted vertically through the material of the waist, and the vertical loops are adapted for the insertion of the pin horizontally or obliquely through the same. Said loops are shown as formed by slitting the metal of the stay-plate to form narrow strips, which are bent outwardly to form integral loops in the same manner as shown and described in my said prior application for patent. The horizontal or laterally-extending arms A A will preferably be bent or curved inwardly, so as to conform to the curvature of the waist in front, although such bending thereof is not essential, as the vertical arms will usually be sufficiently stiff to hold the waist in place when the plate is made of metal so thin or flexible as to enable the horizontal arms to readily conform to the curvature of the waist when the belt is tightened. The vertical arms will preferably be bent slightly inward at their ends, so that the one which is placed downward will press at its end slightly inward against the dressskirt, and thereby insure .the holding of the lower end of the waist snugly in place:

The vertical arms may, if desired, be provided with keyhole-slots a a for engagement with one of the clasp-studs of the corset, as set forth in my said priorapplication.

The stay-plate made as described has the important ad vantage of being very easily and cheaply made from sheet metal and at the same time being entirely efiective for its pur pose. The making of the vertical arms thereof unequal in length, moreover, has the im-. portant advantage of affording exceedingly simple means for adjusting the position of the lower end of the stay to the usual variations in the length of the waist garment without requiring the use of any separated and adjustable piece or part for securing this result.

I claim as my invention- 1. A device for the purpose set forth comprising a stay-plate made of metal or like stiff l V 7 material having vertical and horizontal arms 7 7 made integral with each other, said vertical arms having at their ends means constructed to afford attachment thereto of fasteners for.

attaching a garment thereto, and a beltconnected with the horizontal arms of the plate.

2. A device for the purpose set forth comprising a stay-plate having vertical and horizontal arms made integral with each other, the vertical arms having at their ends means constructed to afford attachment thereto of fasteners forattachingagarment thereto, and 1 the horizontal arms being provided with a plurality of vertical slot-s through which a waist-belt may be passed.

3. A device for the purpose set forth CO-IIL'.

prising a stay-plate provided with vertical and horizontal arms, one of said vertical arm-s V 7 being longer than the other and the stay being reversible to bring either of said arms downwardly.

4. A device for the purpose set forth com-.

prising a stay-plate having vertical and horizontal arms, the horizontal arms being provided with means for attaching the belt thereto, and the vertical arms being made one longer than the other and provided each at its extremity with means for securing a garment thereto.

5. A device for the purpose set forth com- 7 prising a stay-plate having vertical and horizontal arms made integral with each other,

said horizontal arms being provided with verti-cal slots through which a belt may be inserted and the vertical arms being provided each near its extremity with an integral outwardly-projecting loop.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as myrinvention I affix my signature, in presence of two witnesses, this 26th day of Jan-uary, A. D. 1901.

EDXVARD L. MAYER.

lVitnesses:

C. CLARENCE PooLE, GERTRUDE BRYCE.

IIO. 

